The Median Man spoke with Attrition recently about all things Attrition.
The Median Man spoke with Attrition recently about all things Attrition.
WAR OF ATTRITION
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences ?
The band name was taken from “War of ATTRITION” a description of the First World War…a gradual wearing down of sides… My Grandad was wounded at Ypres on the western front in 1917 and I always had a strange fascination with that war…. I even created an album of War poetry (from all sides) which I released in 2015 – “Millions of The Mouthless Dead”…and was pleased to have a guest reading from Wolfgang Flur (Ex Kraftwerk) on that…After Punk and post punk in the late 70’s/Early eighties I was heavily influenced by the early electronic sounds… Kraftwerk being one of them…then the UK scene… Cabaret Voltaire, the Normal, Early Human league etc etc…
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I always approach it sideways… come at it with sound experiments… I started out as a visual artist, so I also see sound…I’m much more of a producer than a traditional musician…. So I experiment with atmospheres first…then see what climbs out of that primeval swamp… rhythms… bass lines… melodies and words… if the songs develop that far…some remain as soundscapes and when I’m working on music that is often enough…
Themes are probably more evident in the lyrics…and again …the music will inspire the subject matter…. When I started ATTRITION back in 1980 I was more literal in my lyrics…so yes I would choose subjects… Animal rights, anti-racism…the old punk influenced years… as I went on I felt I couldn’t keep writing the same things and so explored the subconscious and its effects and influences on our everyday life a lot more…
SIDEWAYS
SIDEWAYS
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I always approach it sideways… come at it with sound experiments… I started out as a visual artist, so I also see sound…I’m much more of a producer than a traditional musician…. So I experiment with atmospheres first…then see what climbs out of that primeval swamp… rhythms… bass lines… melodies and words… if the songs develop that far…some remain as soundscapes and when I’m working on music that is often enough…
Themes are probably more evident in the lyrics…and again …the music will inspire the subject matter…. When I started ATTRITION back in 1980 I was more literal in my lyrics…so yes I would choose subjects… Animal rights, anti-racism…the old punk influenced years… as I went on I felt I couldn’t keep writing the same things and so explored the subconscious and its effects and influences on our everyday life a lot more…
NO CHOICE
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
I don’t seem to have any choice! I use electronics as that’s my instrument…(well apart from my vocals I love the sound and manipulative possibilities of electronic instruments… having my own studio helps with that (The Cage) …and then I bring in guests on strings and guitars…. Whatever I need…
The feeling is always a bit melancholic or dark…again…it’s from the heart so I really have no choice….
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
I do prefer the more upbeat songs live… despite occasionally performing our instrumental “Invocation” horror film score on stage (most memorably in the mountains of Transylvania back in 2018). I usually include a good amount of the latest album as they are the songs I am relating to …they are fresh… and want to go out and perform them… and then I’ll add in some of my favourites from the past 20 years or so… changing that up as I try new things…rework some of them over time… there is a big pre-programmed element as that is the nature of the music I make… but I make sure there is plenty of room for the live musicians to improvise over that base.. So it keeps it interesting…
TRANSYLVANIA
TRANSYLVANIA
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
I do prefer the more upbeat songs live… despite occasionally performing our instrumental “Invocation” horror film score on stage (most memorably in the mountains of Transylvania back in 2018). I usually include a good amount of the latest album as they are the songs I am relating to …they are fresh… and want to go out and perform them… and then I’ll add in some of my favourites from the past 20 years or so… changing that up as I try new things…rework some of them over time… there is a big pre-programmed element as that is the nature of the music I make… but I make sure there is plenty of room for the live musicians to improvise over that base.. So it keeps it interesting…
WHAT WORKS
THE GREAT DERAILER
What plans do you have for the future?
Well I have just released the new single.. The Great Derailer, on CD, Download and Streaming… listen to it here:
https://attritionuk.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-derailer
There’s also a video of it that has just been completed…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x05At-BuyhA
The single is taken from the upcoming album, The Black Maria… due later this year…
and in the meantime I am setting up live shows around the world in support of this…
so far confirmed:
April 3rd- The Tin, Coventry, UK
June 13th: Woodgothic Festival, Sao Thome Das Letras, Brazil
June 17th – Gothic Ba, Buenos Aires, Argentina
June 19th – Producciones Mortem Collections, Santiago de Chile
June 20th – Tumbas Eternas Producciones, Lima, Peru
July – Manchester – tbc
August 20th– Feketa Zaj festival, Hungary
August 30th – Infest festival, UK
November 28th: Winter Ghosts Symposium, Whitby, UK
December 5th – Face Bar, Reading, UK
And apart from that I’m always busy mastering and producing other bands here in my studio… always something to do, even after all these years… I never tire of it…